The ‘Christmas Star’ over Lake Tahoe as Jupiter and Saturn align in the ‘great conjunction’

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The 'Christmas Star' made its appearance over Lake Tahoe on Monday as the planets Jupiter and Saturn aligned in what is called the 'great conjunction.'

Due to their appearing as one bright shining star so close to December 25 they have been dubbed the 'Christmas' Star, just as described in the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ. It has been 800 years since the two planets have appeared together and it won't occur again until 2080.

Though the two planets appeared to be very close they were actually hundreds of millions of miles apart.

South Lake Tahoe resident John Gomez captured the planets over the lake on December 22 and his photos are shown above.

The 'Christmas Star' is still visible in the until December 29 though the only clear night in South Lake Tahoe appears to be Wednesday with partly cloudy skies Thursday and a storm coming into the region Friday. The planets won't be as close as they were Monday, but visible in the west-southwest sky.